Closing in on 40 pounds lost, I've gone down a size in pants, my shirts fit better, and I'm generally just feeling better. I still have a long ways to go, but I'm finally feeling comfortable in what I'm doing.

My goal now, is to lose another 20 pounds between now and my anniversary in July. It should be doable with baseball season here, and practice, and games, and what not. Coaching takes a lot more out of you than I thought it would. If I can be down 60 pounds by my anniversary, I'll probably have a heart attack. But, that's what I'm trying for.

46.5 lbs now. Baseball season has me feeling GREAT I'm losing weight, and even though I'm busy all the time, I have more energy, I feel awesome.

At this rate, (4 pounds a week) I'll have lost somewhere around 70 pounds by the time my anniversary rolls around, provided I'm able to keep at a consistent 4 pounds a week. If I can be down that far, I'll be excited to pose for pictures in the clothes I wore last year, when we had pictures done on our anniversary. The results, should be at least comical.

By being singularly focused on what goes into your body and working out like a fiend. Good genes help too.

In all seriousness, I haven't seen many people be able to actually show off their serratus posterior inferior like that. Impressive to say the least.

I'm currently in Week 8 of P90x and haven't missed a day. The first couple of weeks were a complete kick in the face as I could barely move but I'm feeling stronger, faster and ready to take on the world. I haven't felt like this since my collegiate swimming days. Oh hai shoulders and six pack, good to see you again!

In no way shape or form do I ever think I'll be able to get my body to look like THAT, but if I wanted to, how would I work out those muscles? The only thing I can think of is like like... reverse situp on a bench.

I'd encourage more core work in general and staying away from working out that muscle in particular. Back risers, boat position in yoga, bridge, segmental rotations, quadruped extensions, side planks, supermans are all great exercises for core/back. A lot of these moves are synergistic which helps with overall durability too.

Cogglamp wrote:I'd encourage more core work in general and staying away from working out that muscle in particular. Back risers, boat position in yoga, bridge, segmental rotations, quadruped extensions, side planks, supermans are all great exercises for core/back. A lot of these moves are synergistic which helps with overall durability too.

Agreed. That's a stabilizer muscle, it's not going to easily bulk up even with targeting. Core body exercises will be as effective and also include other muscles in the area.

Really though, seeing muscles like that is much more of a function of having very low body fat than making the muscle bigger. For instance, pretty much everyone has six pack abs, (look at any skinny toddler) they are just "hidden" under other stuff.

Just ran 10k (6.2mi) for the first time. (Not a race, just a regular running session for me.) Pretty pleased with myself right now. I don't think I want to aim for any more distance... now it's going to be about bringing my time down.

A few successes for me. If the scale is to be believed this morning, I'm down 60 pounds. I have a hard time believing the scale sometimes, so I'm not holding my breath until I see that low of a number for several days in a row.

I went walking on Sunday. I walked 3 miles. It's not a lot, but 3 miles for a guy with surgically repaired knees and an ankle feels pretty good. Especially, since I wasn't tired. I wasn't worn out at the end, though my ankle was definitely unhappy with me yesterday.

Now for a question. With baseball season drawing to a close, I don't have a regular form of exercise. I would like to get into walking more, and eventually jogging. (I'd say running, but I'm not sure my knees are healthy enough for that yet. What should I be looking for in a shoe?

My everday shoe is

and I've been completely unimpressed with them. They are falling apart after just a few months, and they aren't very comfortable to walk in (I think that part of my ankle soreness is from the shoe) I don't mind dropping a "bit" of money on a shoe, but I'm not looking to drop 200 bucks. I'm just looking for a good brand of shoe that will stand up to walking / jogging.

As for shoes, it's really more about what fits your foot best (in terms of brands. For example, Nike feels super uncomfortable to me.). I've been a loyal supporter of Adidas for years, and have never had a shoe fall apart on me prematurely. My last pair of running shoes from Adidas lasted three years (and in those three years, I walked 5k every day Monday through Friday to and from work and ran over 400km) before I bought new ones. My new shoes are solely for running now... which means I'm still walking to and from work every day in my previous pair. On average, I spend about $100 for them. Maybe $140 at a push.

Do you have any specialty shoe stores near you? We have something called The Running Room here (it may even be a US company) and they can match you to shoes that best suit you.

Nikachelle wrote:I've been following your weight loss and it's been awesome!

As for shoes, it's really more about what fits your foot best (in terms of brands. For example, Nike feels super uncomfortable to me.). I've been a loyal supporter of Adidas for years, and have never had a shoe fall apart on me prematurely. My last pair of running shoes from Adidas lasted three years (and in those three years, I walked 5k every day Monday through Friday to and from work and ran over 400km) before I bought new ones. My new shoes are solely for running now... which means I'm still walking to and from work every day in my previous pair. On average, I spend about $100 for them. Maybe $140 at a push.

Do you have any specialty shoe stores near you? We have something called The Running Room here (it may even be a US company) and they can match you to shoes that best suit you.

Thank you It's been a lot more gratifying than I thought it would be in the beginning. In the past couple of weeks, I went unrecognized by someone I've known for 15 years (weight loss + Long hair + attempt at Goatee made me Incognito), and I even got hit on at the gas station... That was.. both flattering, and a little creepy all at the same time.

Even with the weight loss starting to slow down, I'm still confident that I can lose another 10 pounds before my anniversary, which should make for some highly entertaining pictures. I plan to take photos in the same outfit I wore last year. Which means by Christmas, I could be down 100 pounds. That would be frekking awesome.

For shoe stores, Nothing real specialty around here. There's Foot Locker, Champs, and a plethora of "Famous Footwear" type places. I'm normally an avid Adidas guy, I've been wearing them.... Oh... most of my life. But I saw these Puma's, and I loved them. They felt comfortable. But, they've just fallen to pieces on me.

I am definitely looking for a pair of shoes that I'll just be using to jog / exercise in. It might be time to travel to Columbus and see what they have.

Just thought I'd clock in (to make myself more committed).Been trying to lose weight inactively for a while, wondered why I wasn't since I was not eating as much as I supposedly could and still lose weight, so started registering my food intake ~4 weeks ago. Result from just registering, and not doing anything significant aprt from that; 4.7 kg loss over 4 weeks - apparently I was eating a lot I didn't register consciously that I was eating.

Current weight: 270 lbs (rounded up)Goal: 210 lbsTime frame: 25 weeks (if not sooner)Primary method: watching what I eat (without actually dieting)Secondary method: walking to burn off excess calories (so only taking the bus if my body won't support walking (knee issues) or the weather means I won't get done what I need to do)

I highly suggest you find a real running store to help you determine what type of shoe you need. Instead of focusing on brands, you need to figure out whether you are a neutral/normal pronator, under pronator or over pronator. If you have ankle and knee issues, this really is a must. You should also look at your arches and figure out if you need special support. If you can't find a specialty running store, try this:

As far as running shoes are concerned, have you considered a visit to a podiatrist? They generally don't charge that much for an office visit, and they do accept insurance. It's their job to be up to speed on various shoes and foot types - and even if they can't recommend a specific shoe to you they can tell you what to be on the lookout for, and you can bring that information to a shoe salesman.

Each running shoe manufacturer tends to be better for certain types of feet and worse for others. I used to be a diehard Nike fan, until I was advised by a podiatrist to look into New Balance, as I've got relatively flat (and VERY wide) feet and low arches. I never had shin splints again, after switching from Nike to New Balance.

- I'm not Jesus, but I can turn water into Kool-Aid.- A Sergeant in motion outranks an officer who doesn't know what the hell is going on.- A demolitions specialist at a flat run outranks everybody.

So the American Medical Association has decided to recognize obesity as a disease.

I cannot stop rolling my eyes.

(And before someone starts trashing on me, I'm not talking about genetic conditions which predispose people to abnormal weight gain that they are BORN with. Not a condition you got because of poor dietary choices.)

Well, I can understand your eye rolling. Part of me has a very similar reaction.

but then I look at the bureaucratic red tape in this country, and I realized something. This is about the only way that they can "actively" work to curb obesity. Health Insurances will charge you more for being overweight, but very few of them actually have tools to help people who want to lose the weight, change their lives.

Now that it's classified as a disease, the pressure can be put on them to work to give people access to more tools to promote healthy lifestyles.

While I do roll my eyes at it, I think I roll my eyes more at the fact that as a country, we have to label something like an unhealthy lifestyle as a disease to put pressure on our insurance / health care provider's / big box stores to promote healthy living.

On the plus side, I found out that a guy I graduated with is a Fitness trainer. He lives out of state now, but will be back to visit his parents soon, and is going to cut out a couple of hours to go shoe shopping with me to help me pick something out that fits my foot.

I am an over pronator "now". My Orthopedic surgeon said that My right foot will probably always be Over, due to the damage to my ankle. Curse you soccer injuries. I'm not sure if, as I lose more weight, and get more active my left foot will return to a more neutral form or not.

Just to give you fair warning, when you go shoe shopping, it can be overwhelming.

Given your weight and over-pronation, you should look for something with a fair amount of stability. Do not get sold on picking up a lightweight trainer. The lightweight trainers are for more serious runners who have gotten their body used to running. There's no doubt that you can get yourself there but not right off the bat.

You haven't asked for it but I'll give you my opinion on shoe companies that you should look at when the time comes:

AsicsBrooksSauconyNew Balance

I've found them to be the best of the bunch and I've logged some substantial miles in my day. They're not sexy brands but they make great product.

Cogglamp wrote:Just to give you fair warning, when you go shoe shopping, it can be overwhelming.

Given your weight and over-pronation, you should look for something with a fair amount of stability. Do not get sold on picking up a lightweight trainer. The lightweight trainers are for more serious runners who have gotten their body used to running. There's no doubt that you can get yourself there but not right off the bat.

You haven't asked for it but I'll give you my opinion on shoe companies that you should look at when the time comes:

AsicsBrooksSauconyNew Balance

I've found them to be the best of the bunch and I've logged some substantial miles in my day. They're not sexy brands but they make great product.

I'm definitely looking for something with stability. When I was young, I played a ton of soccer, and a blind side slide tackle at 17 reduced my right ankle to a bag of bone fragments, torn tendons, and grossness. 3 screws and a plate later, I was back up and walking, but it definitely changed the way I walk, run, etc... forever.

Even before I almost died (the catalyst event to my weight gain), my ankle was weak and prone for failure. 6 months on bedrest, and an unhealthy fast food lifestyle for 10 years later, and it's no better.

I used to complain about my knees more so than my ankle. I never had anything "terrible" happen to them, just simple cleaning procedures. But at 293 pounds, that is what hurt. They screamed, they ached. I was afraid I was going to be forced into more serious procedures on them.

60 pounds later, and they ache, but nothing terrible. nothing that's intolerable, or more than a couple of Ibuprofen to deal with. I played soccer and baseball from a very young age, It's no surprise that now in my 30's they ache.

But my ankle? Well, I'm afraid that eventually, they are going to have to do something more with it. I hope that this pain is just a "phase" in the weight loss. Now that the majority of my weight isn't crushing my knees, I'm feeling it more in my feet, as I walk. We'll see how it feels in 40 pounds when I'm firmly back down under 200. I don't want no stinkin' surgeries if I don't have to.

Thanks for the tips on brands. I'm not much of a "brand guy". I wear Adidas, mainly because as a kid, It was Adidas cleats for soccer (and baseball), and then Samba's for the indoor season. Adidas used to be (not sure now) a huge supporter in the area for kids sports. They would bend over backwards for kids.

And it was good marketing. These Puma's I have are the first non Adidas shoes I've owned in a very long time.

See an orthopedist for a referral to a podiatrist. Seriously. Until then, I wouldn't fuck around with the ankle injury - things like "old sports injuries" aren't something that you should even begin to follow the "push through the pain!" advice that fitness trainers will give you. Aggravating those can have some SERIOUS consequences down the line, and while you may be doing alright now, in a year or so that can/will probably change to the point where you're right back to where you started before your workout plan, except with the stigma of "lifetime cripple" added to the mix.

Why are people so anti-podiatrist? If you want to run, they're the people you go to to find the shoes/inserts/etc you need to do so. Once you've got the proper equipment, THEN you go to a trainer.

- I'm not Jesus, but I can turn water into Kool-Aid.- A Sergeant in motion outranks an officer who doesn't know what the hell is going on.- A demolitions specialist at a flat run outranks everybody.

Diagnosed with diabetes two years ago or so. Started off with medications that seemed to help, then WHAM! Ineffective. Increased dosage? Ineffective. Improved diet drastically? Ineffective. Exercising regularly? Ineffective. Less calorie intake, more calorie burning? Can't lose weight either. But my thyroid appears to be normal.

Finally seem to have the medication issue fixed, the blood sugars are improving even from two weeks ago. I guess that's a good thing.

But by improving my diet (more veggies, less sweets; more water, less soda), I also find that while I can like the appearance of food, I am slowly finding the taste to be more and more unappealing. Now when I say, "I'm not hungry," it's not because I'm not hungry/am full from the previous meal, it's because I'd rather not eat at all. Which I can't do, considering the medication I'm on.

And by adding regular exercise, I've come to the conclusion I'm either a freak of nature, or someone(s) is a big fat liar. Exercising - for me - doesn't make me "feel better," it makes me feel violent and aggressive. I'm not a pleasant person to talk to the rest of the evening. My mood swings are a lot worse, even a sneeze can piss me off. I can't comment on if it makes me "look better," because frankly, I don't give a half-fuck how I look (so I neither look nor ask).

Plus, this shit is expensive. I'm tempted to just dump it all, and if I die before 40 due to diabetes, so be it.

I know that depression can go hand in hand with my PCOS, but I don't think I've ever heard of improved health leading to aggresive outbursts either.

Any direction would be appreciated, 'cause I'm just clueless now.

Fetzie wrote:The Defias Brotherhood is back, and this time they are acting as racketeers in Goldshire. Anybody wishing to dance for money must now pay them protection money or be charged triple the normal amount when repairing.